Page 110 of River of Deceit

“Yourbrotherhad roofies in his room,” I reply hotly. “He should be kicked out of this brotherhood, not protected from theconsequences of his actions. Who knows how many women he’s drugged and fucked?”

Blaze lets out a dark laugh. “And how many women has the Pavone Family kidnapped and sold? You think you’re on some fucking moral high ground?”

He’s not wrong about the Pavones. Even though they primarily stick to the legal side of sex work these days, that hasn’t always been the case. I’m not going to defend them to Blaze, and I’m not going to be a little bitch by claiming I didn’t have a choice but to work for them.

I didn’t, but there’s no point in dwelling on that fact.

I’ve done what I’ve done, and that’s included some pretty shady shit.

“Idon’t roofie random women,” I say coolly. “Idon’t kidnap or sell women.” My eyes narrow at him. “Can you say your family has never abducted a woman before?”

“Of course,” Asch says immediately, but I see the way Blaze’s eyes narrow.

He’s definitely hiding something. He knows more than he lets on.

“What my family does will be your concern if you ever join the Bouchards,” Blaze says. “Which is never going to happen if we can’t trust you. You’re still all tied up with the Pavones.”

“Who says I want to join the Bouchards?” I ask, arching a brow, but I don’t have a future with the Pavones. That had ended when I’d hurt Pandora, when they’d cut off my finger for it. Maybe I should consider the Bouchards.

If I thought I could have a normal life after Dyschord, I would laugh in his face, but I don’t.

This is what I was born into, the environment I was raised in. Steeped in violence, kept locked inside of its strong arms, I’ve always known that I’m destined to become someone—in all the wrong ways.

Blaze pushes away from the door and closes in on me, like a shark that has smelled blood.

“You want to be Pandora’s lackey for the rest of your life?” Blazewhispers darkly. “You think she’ll ever repay you for how you simp for her? No. We’ve seen how she treats you, River. You’re a toy to her.”

I tense up, but I don’t pull away. I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that his words are getting to me at all.

I’m already her pawn. That’s the whole reason I’m in Kappa Alpha to begin with, instead of pursuing a frat that might be more my speed. Fenrir had made it clear I’d have been welcome with the Hellions, but I hadn’t felt like I’d had much of a choice.

Now, it’s too late, and one more aspect of my life has been defined by the Pavone family.

I exhale slowly, thinking over my options. I want this potential in with the Bouchards. I may never use it, but having it could be worthwhile. Is it betraying Pandora’s trust if I ask them questions flat-out during my investigation into what happened to Rachel?

Do I care?

Surprisingly, I do. I don’t like that I do, but that doesn’t change the fact.

Either way, I know what I need to do. I take my phone out of my pocket, pulling up a picture of a smiling Pandora and Rachel together, taken one day at the New Bristol Zoo. “I need to know what you know about this girl right here, Rachel Turner.”

Asch and Blaze both crowd closer to get a better look. Asch touches the phone to zoom in on Rachel’s face.

She was so different from Pandora. Much more mellow, but willing to go along with Pandora’s schemes. Rachel listened quietly and gave insightful comments without judging.

And she’d understood, more than Pandora, what it was like not to want to go home. Whirlwind Pandora would drag us to different parts of the city, and while we were with her, we could forget that there was nothing better waiting for us.

I feel my eyes prickling with tears, but I’m not going to cry for Rachel.

I’d done all my crying when her body was firstdiscovered.

“She’s cute,” Asch says, making my anger flare again because the last thing I need is to hear about how some college guy thinks Rachel wascute.

Blaze grunts, but it’s hard to tell if he’s agreeing. “Rachel Turner? The name doesn’t ring a bell. But she looks a bit familiar.” He catches my glare and says, “Chill. We didn’t fuck her. I’d remember somebody I slept with.”

“I need to know anything you can find out about her. If you find that out for me, I’ll see what I can tell you about Pandora,” I say.

“Yeah, okay,” Blaze agrees.